Authorities say an 86-year-old Lowell man died after accidentally setting himself on fire while smoking a pipe. Officials say James Johnson died at the University of Chicago Medical Center late Monday night. Cause of death was pending an autopsy. Family members say the man had gone into the garage to smoke because of the strong winds Monday afternoon.
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Read more: Man Dies After Fire

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says the report of a bull shark in the Wabash River is... not true. A photo that got posted on WTHI-TV's Facebook page claimed the picture was taken at a Terre Haute park... but one of the commenters wrote it was prank on someone that went too far. Scientists note that the bull shark can swim quite a distance into fresh water.
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Read more: No Bull Shark in Wabash

One of the oldest downtowns in the Region is hoping to land a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Last night, city redevelopment officials in Hobart held an informational meeting for residents and those who own property in downtown Hobart to talk about getting the nomination process started. Making the list would make certain grants available for restoration. More than fifty commercial buildings on Main, Third, and Center streets would make up the designated district if approved.
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Read more: Hobart Hopes for Historic Designation

Local officials around the country are sounding their support a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers. The NTSB wants it changed to point-0-5 claiming the move could save hundreds of lives every year. But Sarah Longwell, Managing Director of the American Beverage Institute, says most DUII accidents not caused by "moderate" drinkers:  The NTSB is calling on the federal government to give states incentives for lowering the legal blood alcohol content. In most of Europe the limit is currently at point-oh-five, in some countries as low as point-oh-two. Indiana lowered its legal limit from point-one-oh to point-oh-eight twelve years ago, after more than a decade's worth of legislative attempts to do so and also as the federal government was threatening to withhold millions in highway funds if it didn't happen. The NTSB also wants stiffer penalties for first time and repeat offenders.
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Read more: NTSB Wants Legal Limit Lowered

Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Joe Donnelly, a member of the Senate Ag Committee, applauded the committee passage of a five-year farm bill with bipartisan support.  The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 passed 15 to 5 and would reduce the deficit by $23 billion while protecting the estimated 16 million ag-related jobs across the country. 
“I am pleased that we have approved a common sense, five-year farm bill to give the Hoosier ag and rural communities the certainty they deserve,” said Donnelly.  “This bipartisan bill would not only protect the millions of ag jobs around the country; it makes the tough decisions necessary to cut spending, increase accountability, and eliminate duplicative or unnecessary programs to continue our efforts to get our fiscal house in order.
“While no bill is perfect, there are a few areas of this bill I worked to improve based on feedback from Hoosiers.  First, I worked to maintain full planting flexibility for Hoosier farmers wanting to grow fruits and vegetables on their farms.
“Second, as many of Indiana’s farmers continue to contribute to our domestic energy security, I introduced an amendment to give the next generation of bioenergy crops access to base levels of risk management so that a logical safety net will be in place for producers.  
“Further, I supported an amendment to give USDA more authority in determining conservation program technical assistance funding levels with input from the field and the stakeholder community.  We need robust technical assistance to give producers the assurances they need to know they are implementing practices correctly, and these decisions should be more reflective of needs on the ground.
“Now, I urge prompt passage of this bill by the full Senate and for our colleagues in the House to follow suit.  Indiana farmers deserve more than the partisan gridlock that prevented a five-year farm bill from passing last year.”
Donnelly introduced an amendment with Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) to address the increasing use of crops for biofuels.  This bipartisan amendment would amend the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program to offer coverage for crops producing feedstock for energy purposes.  Further, the amendment would direct USDA to research and develop risk management tools promising new sorghum crops.  Read his full amendment here.
Senator Donnelly’s amendment is supported by the Advanced Biofuels Association, Agriculture Energy Coalition, Advanced Ethanol Council, BIO, Growth Energy, National Sorghum Producers, and the Renewable Fuels Association.  Read their letter of support here.
Donnelly cosponsored an amendment introduced by Senator Heidi Heitkamp that would put the USDA in charge of conservation program technical assistance funding levels, taking the Office of Management and Budget out of the process.  This gives USDA the authority to make sure the technical assistance reflects the needs of producers in the field and the stakeholder community while allowing conservation practices to be adopted on a broader scale.
Gene Schmidt, in leadership for the National Association of Conservation Districts and producer from northern Indiana said of the conservation amendment, “We need accountability and efficiency for the dollars that are available, and we need enough technical assistance dollars to make that happen.  We’ve been so challenged in the past to have enough technical assistance dollars to properly assist implementation of programs in the field.  So many times producers want to do the right thing, but often they want assurance that they are implementing the practice properly.  I thank Senator Donnelly for being willing to sponsor this amendment because a locally led process is the way to do it.  Those on the local level know how to do it properly and least expensively.”
The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 now goes to the full Senate for its consideration.
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Read more: Donnelly Amendments Pass Senate Ag's 5 Year Farm Bill

Two nights of back-to-back jackpot drawings that feature combined more than half-a-billion dollars in jackpot money. Hoosier Lottery officials say tonight's Mega Millions drawing offers an estimated jackpot of $170 million while tomorrow's night's Powerball jackpot has now jumped to an estimated $360 million. This marks the first time Mega Millions and Powerball have cracked the $150 million and $300 million marks, respectively, at the same time since Indiana began offering Mega Millions more than three years ago.
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Read more: Wednesday's Powerball Jackpot Now 360 Million Dollars

Police in Lansing, Illinois, report a lottery scam is seeing a resurgence in the area. Lansing Police say in the scam, a person is informed by letter saying they have won a lottery, oftentimes an international lottery, and that the company has been trying to contact the “winner”. Authorities say a check is usually included for a lesser amount, which according to the letter, can be used to cover the expenses incurred while obtaining the winnings. Once you call the contact person, they instruct you to cash the check and send a certain amount to them via Western Union, or another wire service, to cover their processing fees. Police say once the money is wired, it is nearly impossible to retrieve, if not impossible to determine who actually retrieved the wired funds, and no winnings are sent back and the check you cashed will come back as fraudulent.
Here are some tips to avoid becoming a victim to this or a similar scam:

• You cannot win a lottery you have not entered
  
• There is no such things as an "international lottery"

• There is no such things as an "email lottery"
  
• Legitimate lotteries do not make the winners cover any types of fees or expenses
  
• Lotteries do not contact the winners; the winner has to contact the lottery
  
• Never provide any personal or financial information to a company soliciting you, which you did not initially contact yourself.
  
• When in doubt, contact your local police before taking any action
  

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Read more: Lansing PD Issues Lottery Scam Alert

Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer says an enforcement sweep is happening this week. Inspectors from the city will be issuing warnings and citations for code violations. The two-day sweep this Thursday and Friday (May 16 and May 17) will cover an area within Springland Avenue on the north, Vail Street on the west, Michigan Boulevard on the south, and Carroll Avenue on the east. Michigan City Fire officials will also be available citywide to help the elderly or disabled with the installation or checking of their smoke detectors, and those who'd like assistance are asked to call the Michigan City Fire Department.
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Read more: Code Enforcement Sweep In Michigan City Thur and Fri

(Photo Courtesy of the Cook County Sheriff's Office)
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart today announced a 41 year old New Jersey missing person's case has been solved as a result of the on-going investigation to identify the unnamed victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Sheriff Dart says while testing confirmed no genetic association between a female relative of Steven Soden and any of Gacy's unidentified victims, her profile did match unidentified skeletal remains found 13 years ago in New Jersey, which were confirmed to be that of the missing 16 year old, who was last seen alive running away from a Burlington County campground in April of 1973. Sheriff Dart says relatives had thought the teen may have headed to Chicago where his biological father lived, and may have come into contact with Gacy.
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Read more: Gacy Lead Solves 41 Year Old NJ Missing Person Case

(Photo Courtesy of the Orland, IL, Police Department)
A 350-thousand dollar arrest warrant has been issued today for 31 year old Gary man who authorities accuse of participating in a home invasion in Orland Park, Illinois, just before 3am Friday. Orland Park Police say Warren Lamont Hunter, who is 5' 3'', weighs 124 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, should be considered armed and dangerous. Police report a 30 year old male suffered non-life threatening injuries after being shot in the home invasion incident, in which three suspects reportedly fled the scene. One suspect killed himself Friday night in East Chicago, as the Lake County Sheriff's Department Gang Unit approached a residence after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Orland Police say besides Hunter, they are now seeking two additional offenders involved with the home invasion, and anyone with information on the whereabouts of Hunter, or information regarding the home invasion, is asked to contact the Orland Police Department, at (708) 349-4111.
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Read more: Arrest Warrant Issued for 2nd Home Invasion Suspect